Lawncare apparatus

ABSTRACT

A lawncare apparatus includes a main body, multiple wheels supporting the main body, a cutting blade disposed in the main body, a motor driving the cutting blade, and an operating arm connected to the first end of the main body. The distance in the horizontal direction between the axial central line of the cylindrical gripping portion of the operating arm and the axes of the elongated handle of the main body along the length direction is less than 5 cm. Because of the structure mate relationship between the operating arm and the cylindrical gripping portion, the operator feels more comfortable during the transporting process, the volume of lawncare apparatus during transporting is reduced and the convenience of transporting is improved.

RELATED APPLICATION INFORMATION

This application claims the benefit of and is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 16/722,589, filed Dec. 20, 2019, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/238,276, filed Aug. 16,2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,524,420, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/048,158, filed Oct. 8, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No.9,888,627, which application claims the benefit of CN 201210387914.9,filed on Oct. 15, 2012, and CN 201220602040.X, filed on May 3, 2013, thedisclosures of which are each incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The subject disclosure relates to garden tools and, more particularly,to a lawncare apparatus.

BACKGROUND

A commonly used lawncare apparatus, such as a walk-behind lawnmower,includes a cutting device, a deck supporting the cutting device, achassis having four wheels to which the deck is mounted, and a handlefor pushing a main body of the lawncare apparatus disposed at one end ofthe chassis.

When using the lawnmower, there are two ways to transport the lawnmowerfrom a storage room to a lawn. The first way is to place the four wheelson the ground and push/pull the lawnmower. The second way is to lift thelawnmower away from the ground. The first way requires a large storageroom and the second way requires that the lawnmower is of light weight.That is, the way to transport the lawnmower from the storage room to thelawn needs to be improved.

SUMMARY

The following will describe an apparatus which can improve operatingcomfort of the operator, reduce volume of the apparatus duringtransporting and/or storage, and further improve convenience oftransporting.

To achieve the above object, a described apparatus includes a main body,a plurality of wheels supporting the main body, an accessory disposed inthe main body, a motor driving the cutting blade, and an operating armconnected to the first end of the main body, wherein an elongated handleis disposed on the second end of the main body which is away from theoperating arm. The operating arm includes a cylindrical gripping portionand the operating arm can be folded to a folded position. When theoperating arm is at the folded position and the multiple wheels contactsthe level surface, the distance in the horizontal direction between theaxial central line of the cylindrical gripping portion and the axes ofthe elongated handle along the length direction is less than 5 cm.

To achieve the above object, another described apparatus includes a mainbody, a plurality of wheels supporting the main body, an accessorydisposed in the main body, a motor driving the cutting blade, anoperating arm connected to a first end of the main body, and anelongated handle positioned on a second end of the main body which isaway from the operating arm. The operating arm is capable of beingfolded to a folded position and the internal profile of the operatingarm is mated with the external profile of the elongated handle such thatthe operating arm at the folded position is clearance fitted with theelongated handle.

The apparatus of the invention can be pulled obliquely. Further, becauseof the structure mate relationship between the operating arm and thecylindrical gripping portion, the operator will feel more comfortableduring the transporting process and the volume of the apparatus duringtransporting is reduced, and further, the convenience of transporting isimproved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic, isometric view showing an exemplary lawncareapparatus constructed according to the description which follows whereinan operating arm is folded.

FIG. 2 is a side schematic view showing the exemplary lawncare apparatusof FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an exemplary safety switch assemblyof the lawncare apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side schematic view showing the lawncare apparatus of FIG. 1in a storage position.

FIG. 5 is a side schematic view showing the lawncare apparatus of FIG. 1in an obliquely disposed, pulling position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention will be described below in details with reference to thedrawings and preferred embodiments thereof.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, in the illustrated embodiment, thelawncare apparatus is a hand push lawnmower. The lawncare apparatusincludes a main body 1, a first pair of wheels 11 and a second pair ofwheels 12 supporting the main body 1, a cutting blade disposed in themain body 1, a motor driving the cutting blade, and an operating arm 2connected to the first end (rear end) of the main body 1. The first pairof wheels 11 and the second pair of wheels 12 are disposed respectivelyat the second end (front end) and the first end (rear end) of the mainbody 1. The operating arm 2 is pivotally connected to the rear end ofthe main body 1 by a pivot shaft 22 and positioned above the second pairof wheels 12. The front end of the main body 1, which is away from theoperating arm 2, includes an elongated handle 13. In the illustratedembodiment the elongated handle 13 is substantially cylinder-shaped andincludes an axis Z2 along the longitude direction. The operating arm 2includes a cylindrical gripping portion 23 and can be folded to a foldedposition, and the cylindrical gripping portion 23 includes an axialcentral line Z1.

When the operating arm is at the folded position and the first pair ofwheels 11 and the second pair of wheels 12 both contact the horizontalsurface F, if the gripping portion 23 is above the handle 13, thedistance d1 in the vertical direction between the axial central line Z1and the axis Z2 along the longitude direction is greater than the sum ofthe radius of the gripping portion 23 and the radius of thecylinder-shaped handle 13, and the distance d1 is less than 5 cm. Forexample, the diameters of the gripping portion 23 and thecylinder-shaped handle 13 are both 1.5 cm, then the distance d1 is atleast greater than 1.5 cm. Preferably, the distance d1 is 3 cm, and adistance d2 in the horizontal direction between the axial central lineZ1 and the axis Z2 is also less than 5 cm, and in the illustratedembodiment, the distance d2 is preferably 0.5 cm. Therefore, when theoperating arm 2 is at the folded position, the user can grip both thegripping portion 23 and the cylinder-shaped handle 13 conveniently.

Additionally, in an alternative embodiment, to allow the user to gripboth the gripping portion 23 and the cylinder-shaped handle 13 moreconveniently, the internal profile of the gripping portion 23 is matedwith the external profile of the cylinder-shaped handle 13, such thatwhen the operation arm 2 is at the folded position, the outer surface ofthe gripping portion 23 and the cylinder-shaped handle 13 contact witheach other. At this time, the gripping portion 23 and thecylinder-shaped handle 13 can lie in a horizontal plane, the distance d2in the horizontal direction between the axial central line Z1 and theaxis Z2 is larger than the sum of the radius of the gripping portion 23and the radius of the cylinder-shaped handle 13, and the distance d1 iszero. It should be noted that the external profile of the grippingportion 23 may be designed to mate with the internal profile of thecylinder-shaped handle 13.

To allow the user to grip both the gripping portion 23 and thecylinder-shaped handle 13 more stably, a clip K is disposed on thehandle 13. When the operation arm is at the folded position, the clip Kis engaged with the cylindrical gripping portion 23.

Further, in the illustrated embodiment, the operating arm 2 isextendable, and a safety switch assembly 240 is disposed in theoperating arm 2, the operating arm 2 includes an inner pipe 25 and anouter pipe 21, the outer pipe 21 is rotatably connected to the rear endof the main body 1 by the pivot shaft 22, and the end of the outer pipe21 includes a pipe sleeve 24.

Referring to FIG. 3, the safety switch assembly 240 is disposed in thesleeve pipe 24 and a safety shift structure 25 a is disposed in theinner pipe 25. The safety switch assembly 240 includes a safety switch241 and a trigger assembly 242 configured to trigger the safety switch241 when the safety shift structure 25 a of the inner pipe 25 isdisengaged from a safety location and reset the safety switch 241 whenthe safety shift structure 25 a returns to the safety location. Thesafety switch 241 is electrically connected to a control circuit forcontrolling the motor in the main body 1.

In the embodiment, the trigger assembly 242 is a contacting springsheet. One end of the contacting spring sheet is connected to the safetyswitch 241 and the other end is a free end. When the inner pipe 25slides, the wall of the inner pipe 25 presses the contacting springsheet to trigger the safety switch 241. The contacting spring sheet 242is formed with elasticity. When the inner pipe 25 slides, the safetyshift structure 25 a moves back to the safe position and, at this time,the safety shift structure 25 a is within a receiving groove configuredto accommodate the contacting spring sheet, and the contacting springsheet 242 is out of outer force and will not trigger the safety switch241.

When the inner pipe 25 is retracted into the outer pipe 21, the safetyshift structure 25 a leaves the safe position and the wall of the innerpipe 25 presses the contacting spring sheet 242 to trigger the safetyswitch. At this time, even during the transporting process, if the useroperates the operating switch by mistake, the motor cannot be started,which can reduce the possibility of danger happening to the user.

Additionally, referring to FIG. 2 again, when the lawnmower is at theusing position, the first pair wheels 11 and the second pair wheels 12are supported on the supporting surface F. If light is shining from adirection perpendicular to the supporting surface F, the main body 1 ofthe lawnmower projects a first orthographic projection on the supportingsurface F. Referring to FIG. 4, the lawnmower is at the storageposition. When the lawnmower is stored, the lawnmower stands uprightlyfor storing in a storage room and the operating arm 2 is folded and onlythe second wheels 2 are supported on the supporting surface F. Forimproving stability, a supporting portion 26 is disposed on the mainbody 1 for supporting on the supporting surface F, and the supportingportion can be integrated with or separated from the main body 1. In thesame way, at this time if light is shining from a directionperpendicular to the supporting surface F, the main body 1 of thelawnmower projects a second orthographic projection on the supportingsurface F. Since the width of the lawnmower at the using position is thesame as that of the lawnmower at the storage position, and the distanceD1 between the first pair wheels 11 and the second pair wheels 12 islarger than the distance D2 between the first pair of wheels 11 and thesupporting portion 26, the first orthographic projection area of thelawnmower at the using position is larger than the second orthographicprojection area of the lawnmower at the storage position.

Referring to FIG. 5, when the lawnmower is changed from the usingposition to the obliquely pulled position, only the second pair wheels12 contact the supporting surface and the hands of the user grip a pullportion which is preferably the cylindrical gripping portion 23. At thistime, the operating arm 2 is at the folded position, the distance of thegripping portion 23 relative to the supporting surface F is H; thedistance of the gripping portion 23 relative to the point the secondpairs wheels 12 contacting the supporting surface F is L, and the ratioof H to L may be 0.5˜1, preferably 0.8˜0.9, for meeting the needs ofergonomics. Therefore, when pulling the lawnmower, only part of theweight of the lawnmower is supported by the user, which makes the userfeel more labor-saving.

From the above, the described lawncare apparatus can be pulledobliquely, and because of the structure mate relationship between theoperating arm and the cylindrical gripping portion, the user can feelmore comfortable during transporting and the pulling process is morestable, so that the volume of the lawncare apparatus during transportingis reduced and the operability of lawnmower pulling is improved. Since asafety switch mechanism is disposed on the operating arm, misoperationof the lawncare apparatus can be avoided and safety of pulling isimproved.

The general principle, primary features and advantages of the inventionhave been illustrated and described above. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that the foregoing embodiments are not intended to limit theinvention in any form and technical implementations derived with equalsubstitutions or equivalent variations shall be considered as fallingwithin the scope of the claimed invention.

We claim:
 1. A lawnmower, comprising: a main body; a plurality of wheelsfor supporting the main body; a cutting blade disposed in the main body;an electric motor supported by the main body and drivingly coupled tothe cutting blade; a control circuit for controlling the electric motor;an operating arm rotatably connected to a rear end of the main bodycomprising a first pipe movably coupled to a second pipe and movable toand from a safety location relative to the second pipe; and an operatingswitch mounted to the operating arm activable to provide the controlcircuit with an indication of a desire to start the electric motor; andan assembly associated with the operating arm providing the controlcircuit with an indication of a position of the first pipe relative tothe safety location, wherein the control circuit is set to prevent astarting of the electric motor via use of an activation of the operatingswitch in response to receiving from the assembly an indication that thefirst pipe has been displaced from the safety location and will be resetto allow the starting of the electric motor via an activation of theoperating switch in response to receiving from the assembly anindication that the first pipe has been subsequently returned to thesafety location.
 2. The lawnmower as recited in claim 1, wherein theassembly is a contacting spring sheet, one end of the contacting springsheet is connected to the operating switch and an other end is a freeend.
 3. The lawnmower as recited in claim 2, wherein the contactingspring sheet is formed with elasticity, when the first pipe is in thesafety location, the contacting spring sheet is biased outward and willnot trigger the operating switch, and when the first pipe leaves thesafety location the contacting spring sheet is pressed inward to triggerthe operating switch.
 4. The lawnmower as recited in claim 2, whereinthe operating arm further comprises a safety shift structure, the freeend of the contacting spring sheet comprises a rounded end, when thefirst pipe is in the safety location, and the rounded end is received inthe safety shift structure.
 5. The lawnmower as recited in claim 1,wherein the first pipe has a first surface portion and a second surfaceportion, wherein the second surface portion is radially closer to alongitudinal axis of the first pipe than the first surface portion, andwherein the first surface portion and the second surface portioncooperatively form a safety shift structure.
 6. The lawnmower as recitedin claim 5, wherein the first pipe has an angled surface that provides atransition from the second surface portion to the first surface portion.7. The lawnmower as recited in claim 1, wherein the operating switch isreset and the control circuit enables operation of the electric motorwhen the first pipe is moved to the safety location relative to thesecond pipe in a direction that is away from the main body.
 8. Thelawnmower as recited in claim 7, wherein the operating switch causes thecontrol circuit to disable operation of the electric motor when thefirst pipe is moved away from the safety location relative to the secondpipe in a direction that is towards the main body.
 9. The lawnmower asrecited in claim 1, wherein the main body comprises a front end formedwith an elongated handle for gripping so as to pull the lawnmowerobliquely.
 10. The lawnmower as recited in claim 9, wherein theoperating arm comprises a cylindrical gripping portion, and when theoperating arm is folded to a folded position, the cylindrical grippingportion is adjacent to the elongated handle.
 11. A lawnmower,comprising: a main body; a plurality of wheels for supporting the mainbody; a functional accessory disposed in the main body; a motorsupported by the main body for driving the functional accessory; acontrol circuit for controlling the motor; an operating arm pivotallyconnected to a rear end of the main body and can be folded to a foldedposition relative to the main body, the operating arm comprising twoinner pipes and two outer pipes, each inner pipe being slidably in oneof the outer pipes, and the outer pipes being rotatably connected to therear end of the main body; and a safety switch assembly disposed in theoperating arm, the safety switch assembly comprising a safety switchelectrically connected to the control circuit and a trigger assemblyconfigured to trigger the safety switch when the inner pipe is retractedinto the outer pipe from a safety location and reset the safety switchwhen the inner pipe returns to the safety location, when the inner pipeleaves the safety location, the motor cannot be started.
 12. Thelawnmower as recited in claim 11, wherein the trigger assembly is acontacting spring sheet, one end of the contacting spring sheet isconnected to the safety switch and an other end is a free end.
 13. Thelawnmower as recited in claim 12, wherein the contacting spring sheet isformed with elasticity, when the inner pipe is in the safety location,the contacting spring sheet is out of outer force and will not triggerthe safety switch, and the inner pipe leaves the safety location and thecontacting spring sheet is pressed to trigger the safety switch.
 14. Thelawnmower as recited in claim 12, wherein the operating arm furthercomprises a safety shift structure, the free end of the contactingspring sheet comprises a rounded end, when the inner pipe is in thesafety location, and the rounded end is received in the safety shiftstructure.
 15. The lawnmower as recited in claim 11, wherein the innerpipe has a first surface portion and a second surface portion, whereinthe second surface portion is radially closer to a longitudinal axis ofthe inner pipe than the first surface portion, and wherein the firstsurface portion and the second surface portion cooperatively form asafety shift structure.
 16. The lawnmower as recited in claim 15,wherein the inner pipe has an angled surface that provides a transitionfrom the second surface portion to the first surface portion.
 17. Thelawnmower as recited in claim 11, wherein the safety switch assembly isreset and the control circuit enables operation of the motor by when theinner pipe is moved to the safety location relative to the outer pipe ina direction that is away from the main body.
 18. The lawnmower asrecited in claim 17, wherein the safety switch assembly causes thecontrol circuit to disable operation of the motor when the inner pipe ismoved away from the safety location relative to the outer pipe in adirection that is towards the main body.
 19. The lawnmower as recited inclaim 11, wherein the main body comprises a front end formed with anelongated handle for gripping so as to when need to pull the lawnmowerobliquely.
 20. The lawnmower as recited in claim 19, wherein theoperating arm comprises a cylindrical gripping portion, and when theoperating arm is folded to the folded position, the cylindrical grippingportion is adjacent to the elongated handle.